Users may use user devices to consume media content. User devices may include desktop computers, laptop computers, tablet computers, handheld devices (such as portable media players and smart phones), and any suitable devices. Media content may include video clips, audio clips, and images which are collectively referred to as media items hereinafter. These media items may be stored on user devices such as memory and hard drives of the user devices. These media items may also be made available to the users through content providing services such as content sharing platforms.
Multiple media items may be grouped together into a playlist. Media player software (“media player”) may then be used to play the media items from the playlist continuously without the need for the user to manually forward to a next media item after finishing the current one. For example, music videos by a certain singer may be grouped together into a playlist. When a user requests this playlist, the media player may present the playlist and start playing music videos according to the playlist.
A playlist may be authored by one or more authors and then published on a content sharing platform for the public to enjoy. This type of playlists may be referred to as public playlists. Public playlists may be provided by a content sharing platform so that the user devices of the public may retrieve the playlist and play media items on the playlist. Alternatively, a playlist may be only accessible by a limited number of viewers. This type of playlists may be referred to as private playlists.